Maybelline’s New Tagline Sparks Political Criticism and a Wave of Humor

Maybelline’s new tagline has brought a sharp increase in online attention—and a conversation that extends well beyond the words themselves. Since the launch, brand mentions peaked at 68X the typical volume seen over the past month.

PeakMetrics’ analysis across X, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram shows a reaction shaped by political interpretations, criticism of the wording, and a substantial amount of humor.

Among posts specifically discussing the tagline, 48% are unfavorable, 28% are favorable, and 24% are neutral. Negative reactions make up the largest share, but the conversation is far from uniformly hostile. More than a quarter of posts express a positive view, while nearly another quarter take no clear positive or negative position.

Political interpretations dominate the criticism

Among posts expressing criticism, 59% frame the change as forced inclusivity or political messaging. This is the most prominent critical theme, suggesting that much of the negative reaction centers on what commenters believe the change represents.

Another 24% of critical posts take issue with the wording or punctuation. These objections focus more directly on the execution of the tagline. Complaints about wasted marketing effort or losing an iconic slogan are much less prominent.

Humor is the most common way people engage

Sentiment tells only part of the story. Jokes and sarcasm appear in 38% of tagline-related posts, making humor the most common tone. Informational posts account for another 25%, while praise and direct criticism each represent roughly 19%.

These findings help explain why a conversation can skew unfavorable without being dominated by direct complaints. Sentiment captures whether a post expresses a favorable or unfavorable view; tone captures how that view is delivered. A joke can communicate disapproval without sounding like a conventional criticism.

For Maybelline, the reaction appears to be as much about making fun of the change as expressing frustration with it. Humor still matters to reputation, but describing the entire conversation as outrage or confusion would overlook an important difference in how people are participating.

What communications teams can learn

The Maybelline conversation shows the value of looking at volume, sentiment, themes, and tone together. Volume establishes the scale of attention. Sentiment shows the balance of reactions. Themes reveal what people object to, while tone helps explain how those objections are being expressed.

The scope of each measure matters, too. The 68X peak describes overall brand mentions, while the sentiment and tone findings describe posts specifically discussing the tagline. The criticism breakdown narrows the focus further to posts expressing objections.

For Maybelline, this is likely a positive moment for brand visibility. The new tagline has stirred up chatter, pushed mentions far beyond their usual level, and given people a reason to talk about the brand. With humor the most common tone, much of that attention looks more like playful participation than sustained anger. Even people poking fun at the change are helping keep Maybelline in the conversation.

The political angle is the part to watch. With 59% of critical posts framing the change as forced inclusivity or political messaging, there is a risk that future discussion becomes increasingly detached from the tagline itself. That framing could amplify subsequent campaigns or brand decisions into larger controversies. The opportunity now is to benefit from the renewed attention while monitoring whether the political narrative fades with the jokes—or becomes a recurring lens through which people interpret the brand.

Source: PeakMetrics analysis across X, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. Sentiment and tone percentages refer to tagline-related posts; criticism themes refer to posts expressing criticism. Percentages are rounded.